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September 13, 2018September 13, 2018

Jonathan Majors Has Two Films Premiering at TIFF This Week

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is in full swing. We are only halfway through week one of the festival, but already are seeing some incredible films. In this post, I’m going to focus on one actor in particular – Jonathan Majors. Majors, who turned 29 on Friday, has found himself as a breakout actor in the festival. He stars in two movies that are premiering at the same time – White Boy Rick and Out of Blue. In White Boy Rick, he plays a dope-dealing kingpin, and in Out of Blue, he’s a college professor specializing in parallel universes. I definitely want to see Out of Blue and I’m kind of sad that I’m not at TIFF to watch it, but I will be sure to catch it when it comes to theaters.

Majors has been in other shows, like When We Rise, which was an ABC mini-series. He also starred in the show Hostiles. But now Majors is shooting a starring role in the upcoming HBO show Lovecraft Country. In it, he plays a 1950s war veteran searching for his father. But his acting credits don’t stop there. He has also landed a role opposite Charlie Hunnam, Jack O’Connell and Jessica Barden in Jungleland. Jungleland follows reluctant, bare-knuckle boxer (played by O’Connell) and his brother (played by Hunnam) while they travel across the country for one last fight. In addition, he also co-stars in the films – Gully, Last Black Man in San Francisco and Captive State. That’s a lot of movie credits for such a short period of time.

In an interview with Variety, Majors talks about why he became an actor:

My mother is a pastor, and I played a lot of sports. I come from a long family of pastors and teachers and farmers and Southern roots. And we just talk a lot. But specifically watching my mom and my cousins in the pulpit, the way they would talk. Also, my football coach, who I sound a lot like right now. He was perpetually hoarse. He would rally a group of boys on the football field in Texas, 110 degree weather, and he’d just talk to you. I’m a theater guy. All my education is in theater. I studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for my undergrad. And then I went to Yale School of Drama up in New Haven. I got plucked out of Yale my last semester. And here we are.

I am always happy to see when people excel in their field and love what they’re doing. In Major’s case, it sounds like he’s known about this calling from a young age. It’s funny, I came from a family of pastors, teachers, and farmers myself, and when I was young, I did dream of being an actor. So I can kind of see where Majors is coming from. Albeit, my education, and career took a different path, but that’s not to say that it didn’t end up the way that it’s supposed to. While Jonathan Majors isn’t a household name, just yet, it’s only a matter of time before we’re seeing him at the Oscars.